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A. CHRISTODOULOU / G. DAMASKINIDIS: THE PRESS BRIEFING AS AN ESP EDUCATIONAL MICROWORLD
while the individuals are to use the PC privately, the teacher in the classroom is supposed to
use (for maximum teaching effect) an overhead projector. Thus, the analysis of the
Operational Update should also include the computer as a material, as a medium for
teaching. Lillis and McKinney (2003: 113) argue that »the materiality of texts carries meaning
in itself and contributes … to the meanings of the texts as a whole«. The Operational Update,
as a multimodal text, is inherently transformed by the physical characteristics of the medium
presenting it, namely the PC monitor or the image projected by the overhead projector.
Modern technology, either in the form of a PC or an overhead projector, creates a learning
environment that may be experienced differently by each member of the class. In the case of
the Operational Update, the way military trainees »interact with each other in the presence of
new technologies may have a profound effect on literacy« (KAMIL/ LANE 1998: 328). In the
context of this study, the PC, in self-paced training undertaken by military personnel at home,
may provide »a privacy factor reducing embarrassment« (ASKOV/ BIXLER 1998: 169). In the
case of having a group of trainees, the overhead projector may also »encourage discussion,
group problem solving and communication skills« in learners who work in groups of two or
more (ASKOV/ BIXLER 1998: 169).
No matter what type of technology is used as an instructional tool, the Operational Update is
a multimodal text that creates a literacy event. In the next section, we will demonstrate how
multimodality can be employed in the analysis of a social event that has been recreated in the
form of an electronic text. Due to the limited space available here and the inherent constraints
in analyzing multimodal texts, and in particular electronic ones, only selected examples of our
complete analysis will be given here.
5. A multimodal framework for analyzing the operational update
In this section we analyze the Operational Update so as to illustrate its complexity and the
various conflicting factors instructors should take into account prior to setting up a lesson.
After that, we will attempt an evaluation of this microworld as an ESP literacy event. We
conclude the section by suggesting ways to ›enliven‹ the ESP microworld, particularly for
military personnel.
5.1. A multi-faceted analysis of the Operational Update
5.1.1 Critical Discourse Analysis of the Operational Update
Although the overarching discourse is that of the military, the mixture of discourses is evident
throughout. Military discourse is mostly found in the technical terminology. Although military
discourse may alienate the lay reader, the journalistic audience (probably war
correspondents) in the actual press briefing must have been more acquainted with the military
register. Humanitarian discourse is related to human suffering, and it is mainly found in the
first slide; e.g. government/ human relief organisations, human misery, deportees, tented
villages, refugees, aid. Although the terms petroleum production and storage facilities,
airfields, and bridges have been classified by NATO as ›military categories‹ (Appendix, Slide
2), someone (e.g. a journalist or the public) may consider them as important non-military
resources for a society to provide humane living conditions to its citizens. This difference of
perspectives as to what can be qualified as ›war-like‹ blurs the division between military and
non-military. Political discourse could be found in the names of the countries, political
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